Show Me How To Shine
by Nana Potato
Summary: ... roxiri ..."Then she was gone, whisked off to some big city that could give her a chance to shine."


**Random:**Yeah...not entirely sure why I wrote a RoxIri, considering I hate the couple. Damn. Now I can't say that. Anyway, this one-shot is kinda vague. Enjoy it. Don't. Whatever.

**Disclaimer:**I do not own anything Kingdom Hearts related, inlcuding Roxas, Kairi, and Axel. I only own "The Crazed Blue".

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ROXAS wasn't entirely sure why Axel always depended on him to "okay" certain things, and oversee projects. Maybe he was just being friendly, including him in his life. Or maybe Axel was just that paranoid about things.

The second reason seemed more likely.

But Axel had called late in the night, and _demanded_ that he to come down his Jazz&Blues club—The Crazed Blue—but before he could finish, Axe had taken a call from someone else, and forgotten entirely about calling him back.

Now he entered the club and immediately his senses were hit with incense and sharp liquor. His nose visibly twitched. The smell made it burn, but he drunk it in.

This was home.

On center stage was a new singer. He blinked, twice, for he expected to see the wild-haired brunette with sinly curves. Instead was a long-legged redhead wearing popping red lipstick and a dress to match.

She tentatively gripped the microphone. Her half-lidded eyes glanced around the room, and from he stood, he couldn't see the color of her eyes. She briefly turned to band, mouthed something, and the head saxophonist nodded eagerly. His smile was the same.

A deep, slow, tune poured out of the violin. It was accented by the piano, whose melody hit higher notes, and then she sang.

It was like listening to his mother in the kitchen, humming her Blues and Jazzy and Gospel songs while fixing up dinner. But this voice was different—less aged, sweeter, and more into the song. He immediately liked the voice.

You could see, hear, and feel the passion she sang into the song. It was like she was exposing herself through this music. You could see all the troubles she had, the lost lover, and wrong turns she had taken. She was bringing her soul into the song.

His wanted to talk to her, to get to know her, and he wasn't sure why. Last time he had checked, he hated female musicians. They were so cold, bitter, and shallow. They were bent on making it "to the top". They used guys like him—the friend of a guy who owned a club—like ladders and ripped his heart on the way.

But he still stood, gazing at the redhead who had amazed him with one song.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there. But he knew it was too long because when she stopped, his legs ached and burned, and most of the customers had gone.

Was she done already?

She stood from her stool slowly, turned to band to say something, and then started her way down form the stage.

A sudden urge to follow her made him blink. Why? What would he do once he caught up with her? What would he say? What if she'd rather not talk to him?

Apparently, that all didn't matter. Once he saw her slip past the backstage door, his legs had made up his mind for him. They took long, quick strides, passing people who wanted his attention.

One clapped a hand on his shoulder. He gave the man an impatient smile.

"Hey! Roxas! What'd you think of her, huh? Like her, hate her? Boss wants your opinion!"

"Think of who?" He glanced over the man's shoulder. She was probably in the dressing room already, getting ready to leave.

"The new singer! Kairi Dalmasca. She's a looker, eh? I think that's why Axel picked her. Talented and an eye-pleaser, you know?"

Ah. So this was what Axel had called for. The new singer.

"Yeah, yeah. Kairi, you said?"

"Uh-huh."

"Thank you."

Then he passed the man with a short excuse-me. He managed to push past his puzzlement, and swing open the BACKSTAGE door.

He passed all the random doors through the hall until he ended up at a door that held a sign nailed to it. It said "DALMASCA" in Axel's classic handwriting. He wondered if Axel was too cheap to buy an actually sign, or if Dalmasca wasn't a diva like the first fifteen who demanded a star on their door.

Now what, he asked himself. Just knock on the door to say _what_? God, this had stupid written all over it.

Suddenly the door flew open, and the redhead's face came into view. She was without the heavy lipstick that made her lips to very full, and was replaced with a soft pink gloss. Her eyelashes looked less dramatic, and her body wasn't snug in a shiny, eye-catching dress. But the white rose was still in her hair.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't know anyone was here." She looked up and he finally saw the color of her eyes. They were a blue—more like a purple—and were the size of saucers. He liked them. Her dark lashes looked nice framing them.

After a pause, she asked if she could help him.

_Yes. I think I've gone out of my mind. _

"Er…" he cleared his throat. "No. I just wanted to tell you that I enjoyed your singing. It was…different from our others entertainers."

"Thank you!" she gushed. Her face went a delicate pink. For some reason, he didn't think everything about her was delicate, and feminine as was most girls.

"I was worried about singing tonight. You know, first time jitters— " _Jitters_? "But Axel told me not to worry about the audience. Just have fun with it. Although that's kind of hard to do when you're singing Blues, isn't it?"

"Um…yes, I guess."

"And who am I accepting this compliment from?"

"Huh? Oh. It's, um, Roxas…. Ezra. Roxas Ezra."

"Alright then, Mr. Ezra, would you like to accompany me to a dinner?"

Was she serious? Did she always randomly ask people to join her for dinner? Was it because of the compliment? The thought made him sick. Could anyone have dinner with her if they said some nice things?

Rather than ask "are you sure" like most people, he said "why". She smiled, and it caught him off guard. It was like having the spotlight hit him in the eyes, except he liked it.

"Because I've got no one to else to dine with. And I need to celebrate. And I would like to see more of you, Mr. Ezra, if that's alright."

She didn't say it in a sarcastic way, but she might as well have. He suddenly couldn't speak and nearly swallowed his tongue trying to assure her it was fine with him. Instead, she laughed, and hooked her arm in his elbow.

"You know, you're very interesting. See? I'm already learning about you." She led him down the hallway, and through the back exit, and into the city's night life.

And then he was walking around the city, with an energetic redhead who liked to talk and sing, and wrestle with her older brothers when her mother wasn't around.

When he looked back on this night, he wasn't entirely sure why he didn't just tell her no, shake her off, go home. But maybe he was stunned. Completely awed by this woman who didn't take careful steps in life, but jumped randomly into the unknown.

He admired that—the fearlessness, or courage, depending on how you looked at it, to do something daring.

Though taking him to dinner wasn't daring. It was when he asked him to dance that was brave.

It wasn't like he couldn't dance—his mother took him to Waltz lessons more faithfully than they attended Church—but other than that…

"Oh, come on! You just have to _move_. You know, wiggle an arm, shake your hips."

"I don't dance…"

"So you stand there, looking like a brick wall?" All the while, she was dancing circles around him. The smell of wine from dinner was still clinging to her. Not that he minded.

"I don't go out and purposely start dancing."

"Why not?"

"I just don't."

"Well now, you just _do_. Anything." She gripped his hands, shook his arms, and twirled herself around. His body automatically responded by twisting her with one hand, both of hers clinging to his.

Soon she did have him dancing—though it was more like jerky movements that resembled being electrocuted repeatedly—and she smiled, and laughed all the while.

When she was bent in half, slapping her knee. He stopped. Hi face felt stretched and he realized he was smiling. Odd.

"Am I really that bad?"

"Yes!"

He admired that about her too. Kairi—they were on a first name basis the moment he shared his last bread-stick with her—was honest. She didn't hold back anything. She was bold.

A part of was disappointed when she said she was all danced out. He liked watching her, it was exciting, and calming at the same time.

She took the lead again. They were drifting to a part of the town he didn't know very well. But she assured him that this who city was her home, and she "knew every little nook and cranny about this place."

"Wait, Kairi, just where are we going?" She let out a sigh, then abruptly stopped. She was grinning.

"I told you. Ice-cream parlor. Ever had a sea-salt?"

"A sea-what now?"

"God lord, Roxas. Did you ever even have a childhood, or were you just born an adult?"

"I'm sorry my lack of childishness bores you." He joked. Since when did he do that?

"C'mon. It's just around the corner."

They arrived there in seconds, and Kairi bounded up to the counters, like a child. The other women in the store gave her distasteful looks. She was oblivious to them, or acted like she was, and ordered two sea-salt popsicles.

As soon as his tongue flicked over the surface, he was in love.

They walked a little away from the parlor, standing a few yards away from the Pier near the string of stores and the parlor. The moonlight shined and sparkling over the sea like a silver lining.

"Told you you'd like it." She said to him.

"Like cannot express how much I love this ice-cream."

"Yes, that obvious, considering that's your third."

"Mm…maybe I have room for a fourth?

"Mr. Ezra, you bottomless pit, I believe it's time for you to take me home."

"Huh? Really?"

He glanced at his watch. It read 1 AM. The club had closed a little after ten, thirty minutes after they had left, arm in arm.

"Yes. I do have things to do, kind sir. You can't keep me to yourself." She lightly tapped one of his forearms.

"Well I guesswe should get you home then. Er…where is that?"

"This way..." And then she grabbed him arm again, gently, and was leading him to another side of the city he hadn't seen before. It wasn't run-down, or even dirty. It was just like the one he had grown up in--boring, with houses that matched it's neighbor.

She walked up the few four stairs, placed her hand on the knob, and spun around. He jumped back slightly, then took note of her wild grin.

"What? Do I have something on my face?"

"No, no. It's just...well actually, I'm not entirely sure what it is. But, hey, promise me we'll spend some more time together? Like this?"

The answer was out of his mouth before he could process it.

"Promise."

Then he had a very deep desire to ask her to stay with a little longer. To take him some place else he'd never go and teach him something new. But he held his tongue. His fatigue was slightly outweighing his want to spend every single moment with Kairi.

She must've took notice of his face, because she patted his shouler then.

"Oh, stop worrying. You'll see me tomorrow night, if you and Axel want to keep me."

"Oh, right. Of course."

Was that what this night was about? Everyone knew that if you wanted Axel's approval, you had to Roxas's own beforehand.

But he doubted that Kairi would use him like that. She was honest, and out-spoken. She could've gone about his approval a thousand other ways. Instead, she showed him the real her, and let him decide for himself.

He watched as she took quickly ran inside. He heard her run up the stairs. She was soon on the second level, waving her hand out the window, and telling him how to get back home safely.

"Thank you, Kairi." He called to her window seconds after she had slipped inside, and closed the window.

He meant it in more ways than one.

--

It had been five months since Kairi sang for the first time at The Crazed Blue, and through that time, he spent many of his days exploring his own hometown with her.

He discovered more than just hidden stores with quirky merchandise though. With Kairi around, he let himself relax around people. It seemed that with Kairi's help, people became less fake to Roxas, and much more genuine. Now it didn't look like everyone was out to use him.

He was a better person now. He found himself surrounded by new friends, people who liked him for he was. He wasn't constatnyl giving off some bitter barrier that made everyone back off.

He could be himself.

Sadly though, a day came when Kairi was given a better offer. Someone wanted to make her big—a star—with her own album, studio, and everything. It was Kairi had always wanted.

He wasn't going to hold her back.

When she had visited the club to say her goodbyes, she promised that she would not forget anyone, especially not him.

"I might not make it," she said to him, after he asked her if she was sure about going away to become a serious artist.

"But I know that I'll always have a place to come back to. And I know that if I just believe in myself, I can be a star, if I want to. And you know, we have to fall off our horses sometimes to learn to get back up."

"…I'm sure that's not how the saying goes."

"Roxas! I'm trying to have an emotional moment."

"Sorry. I can't see you as an emotional person. But, seriously, Kairi—I get what you're saying. I just wish you didn't have to go."

"Hey, I'll be back. Maybe I'll even sing here a couple of times once I become big. Axel'll love all the customers I'll bring."

"Yeah…"

Then she was gone, whisked off to some big city that would give her a chance to shine. The only regret he had been that he hadn't told her he loved her.

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**Random:**Urg, what IS this? I have no idea why I wrote this. It's just another nagging plot bonny that chews at the sides of you mind until you type it out.

Please, any reviews or constructive critism is welcome!

PEACE!--watch me take another mode--


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